More than 50 Greater Lehigh Valley community members took a walk down memory lane for one night to remember the region’s iconic Hess’s Department Stores and its famous Hess’s Patio restaurant.

Hess's Daze was held Wednesday night at Nazareth Moravian Church in Northampton County and was hosted by the Nazareth Business Council.

"We had people that came from all over," said Laurel Mikovits, a consultant for the Nazareth Business Council. "Hess's really pulls at the heartstrings of a lot of people that remember it and can appreciate it."

Hess's was a retail department store founded in 1897 in Downtown Allentown, becoming known for its in-store fashion models, Patio restaurant and home-made strawberry pie.

Attendees of Wednesday's event talked with former longtime Hess's Patio restaurant employee Linda Garber, viewed the film "Hess's and the Hamilton Street Parade" and received a surprise visit from a former Hess's fashion model.

A question and answer session was held, along with time for exchanging stories and memories about Hess's. Memorabilia collected through the years was shared among the attendees, including Hess's bags, boxes, uniforms, newspaper clippings and jars of the famous tri-colored Hess's sugar.

The highlight of the night was when every attendee received a piece of Hess's Patio's famous strawberry pie, which was made with the original Hess's recipe by The Pie Shop in Nazareth, which donated the pies to the event.

"This is a fun way for us to reach another demographic and a way to bring people into Nazareth," Mikovits said. "We are trying to build Nazareth into a vibrant town."

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Jennifer Glose

Reporter Jennifer Glose covers health care, Berks County and other topics. She can be reached at jenniferg@lvb.com or 610-807-9619, ext. 111. Follow her on Twitter @jenniferg_LVB and read her blog, “Networking,” at http://www.lvb.com/section/networking-blog.

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